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Parliament crash: man arrested on suspicion of terrorism Parliament crash: man arrested on suspicion of terrorism
(about 4 hours later)
A man has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences after a car crashed into a number of cyclists and pedestrians before hitting security barriers outside the Houses of Parliament in London. A man is being held on suspicion of terrorism offences after a car was driven into pedestrians and cyclists before crashing outside parliament in Westminster, as Downing Street revealed authorities were working on hundreds of live counter-terrorism investigations.
Armed police swooped on the scene in marked cars moments after the silver Ford Fiesta collided with the barriers at about 7.40am on Tuesday. Officers pointed their weapons at the vehicle before a driver emerged and was placed in handcuffs. The suspect, a 29-year-old British national believed to be from Birmingham, was arrested at the scene after armed police officers swooped on a silver Ford Fiesta that had crashed into security barriers on St Margaret Street at about 7.40am.
The man, a 29-year-old UK national, was arrested and taken to a police station in south London where he remained in custody. He was the only person in the vehicle, which remained at the scene and was being searched. No weapons had been recovered, police said. Scotland Yard said the man was not known to the security services and was not cooperating with investigating officers, but owing to the crash appearing to be deliberate and the location it was being treated as a suspected terrorist attack.
Counter-terrorism officers were searching two addresses in Birmingham and one in Nottingham as part of the investigation. The security minister, Ben Wallace, confirmed the man was a UK citizen, though not born in the country. The Guardian understands he is of Sudanese origin and is from the Sparkhill area of Birmingham.
Detectives established that the privately owned Fiesta travelled from Birmingham to London late on Monday, arriving just after midnight. Roger Godsiff, the MP for Birmingham Hall Green, said: “Today’s attack at Westminster was carried out by an individual who is believed to have been living in my constituency in Birmingham. My deepest sympathies to the cyclists and pedestrians who were injured in the attack.”
The car was in the Tottenham Court Road area from about 1.25am until 5.55am, police said. It was then driven around the Westminster and Whitehall area from approximately 6am and stayed in the area until the time of the incident. The Nottingham Post reported that the car involved in the incident was registered to an address in Nottingham. The current owner of the vehicle bought it on 20 June this year.
Speaking outside New Scotland Yard, Neil Basu, head of counter-terrorism policing in the UK, said officers were working to get more information on the suspect, but he was not cooperating. The man was not previously known to the security services, he said. Nottinghamshire police said it was supporting counter-terrorism officers as they searched a residential property in the Radford area of the city. The address is thought to be a flat on Peveril Street.
“Given that this appears to be a deliberate attack, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident,” said Basu. Neighbours told the Press Association that the house, which is shared by six occupants, is home to six Sudanese people. Ibrahim Ahmed, 24, who lives in the same terrace row, said: “It’s Sudanese people who live there.”
It is understood police have identified the man and that he is from the Midlands. The owner of the car is known to police, the Guardian understands, although it is unclear whether the suspect is that owner. The car travelled from Birmingham to London on Monday nightand was in the Tottenham Court Road area from around 1.25am to 5.55am before moving to Westminster and Whitehall at around 6am, police said. Two addresses in Birmingham and one in Nottingham were being searched.
The government said it would hold a meeting of its emergency Cobra committee at 2pm on Tuesday. Two men and one woman were injured in the crash, two of whom were taken to hospital and one of whom was treated at the scene. One of the patients was discharged from St Thomas’ hospital and the other remained at St Mary’s hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Three people were treated at the scene after the incident, two of whom were taken to hospital, the London ambulance service said. Their injuries were not thought to be serious. Theresa May said the threat level to the UK remained at severe, meaning an attack was considered likely. Her spokesman said the security services and counter-terrorism police were carrying out 676 live investigations at the end of June, up from more than 500 in March.
St Thomas’s hospital confirmed it had treated one patient whose injuries were not life-threatening and who had been discharged. Another patient was at St Mary’s hospital in Paddington, west London. He said 13 Islamist plots and four plot by far-right extremists had been foiled in the past 18 months.
The dramatic scenes have echoes of the Westminster Bridge attack in March 2017, which prompted the extension of steel and concrete security barriers around the Houses of Parliament. Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on Westminster Bridge, killing four people, before stabbing and killing the unarmed PC Keith Palmer. Kirsty Moseley, 31, one of the closest witnesses to the attack, told the Guardian the driver did not shout or say anything as the car collided with as many as 15 cyclists, and he appeared “focused”.
A witness, Ewalina Ochab, said: “The car drove at speed and towards the barriers. I was walking on the other side [of the road]. I heard some noise and someone screamed.” CCTV footage showed the car swerve across a central reservation near Parliament Square and then accelerate down St Margaret Street before crashing into barriers. Pedestrians were seen leaping out of its path.
The car did not appear to have a front registration plate when it crashed, she said. “I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement. The person driving did not go out of the vehicle.” The scenes had echoes of the Westminster Bridge attack in March 2017, which prompted the extension of steel and concrete security barriers around the Houses of Parliament. Khalid Masood ploughed a car into crowds on the bridge, killing four people, before stabbing and killing an unarmed PC, Keith Palmer.
Melanie Spindler, a tourist from Germany, was in the area with her husband and their two children. She said: “We tried to go to Westminster Pier for a trip down the Thames. We arrived just now and realised the area was closed. This [potential terror incidents] is the reality now. We are not concerned at this stage.” Another witness to Tuesday’s crash, Ewalina Ochab, said: “The car drove at speed and towards the barriers. I was walking on the other side [of the road]. I heard some noise and someone screamed.”
Sam Goodman, who works for the Labour party at parliament, was leaving the evacuated area. He said: “It’s business as usual, we’ve been here before. It’s a bit tense, but there’s not a huge amount of knowledge about what has happened. There was a very quick response from the police.” She said the car did not appear to have a front registration plate. “I turned around and I saw a silver car driving very fast close to the railings, maybe even on the pavement. The person driving did not go out of the vehicle.”
The decision to treat the incident as terrorism was made for several reasons, including CCTV recovered by police showing the vehicle driving at pedestrians and civilians. Streets around Parliament Square, Millbank and Victoria Tower Gardens were cordoned off and the length of Whitehall was closed to traffic after the incident. Westminster tube station was closed for a time before reopening later.
Streets around Parliament Square, Millbank and Victoria Tower Gardens were cordoned off. The length of Whitehall was closed to traffic, with the cordon extended up to where the road meets Trafalgar Square. Speaking outside New Scotland Yard, Neil Basu, the head of counter-terrorism policing in the UK, said: “Given that this appears to be a deliberate attack, the method and this being an iconic site, we are treating it as a terrorist incident.”
Transport for London said Westminster tube station was closed except for interchanges. May, who is on holiday in Italy, was informed of the incident at 8am and was given regular updates by officials. In a statement released by Downing Street, she praised the “formidable courage” and professionalism of the emergency services who “ran towards a dangerous situation in order to protect the public”.
The home secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “Huge thanks to our emergency services for their rapid reaction to incident in Westminster this morning. My thoughts are with those injured.” She said: “The threat to the United Kingdom from terrorism remains severe. I would urge the public to remain vigilant but also to come together and carry on as normal, just as they did after the sickening attacks in Manchester and London last year. The twisted aim of the extremists is to use violence and terror to divide us. They will never succeed.”
It is understood Theresa May, who is on holiday abroad, was informed of the incident at 8am and has been given regular updates by officials. May’s spokesman said the current terror threat was “one of the starkest that we’ve faced. The nature of the terrorist threat is changing, and so must our response. Between 2010 and 2017 there were 2,029 terror arrests in Great Britain; 412 were made in 2017. That is the highest since records began.”
She tweeted: “My thoughts are with those injured in the incident in Westminster and my thanks to the emergency services for their immediate and courageous response.” May wished the injured members of the public a speedy recovery and said she was thankful there was no life-threatening injuries.
Security officials held a COBR meeting on Tuesday, chaired by the deputy national security adviser, Madeleine Alessandri, and attended by Basu and representatives from the mayor of London’s office.
Downing Street said it was clear the security measures currently in place around the Palace of Westminster had worked effectively and significant numbers of police had been on the scene immediately.
No plans have been made for May to return from her walking holiday in Italy. The chancellor, Philip Hammond, is the most senior minister currently in the UK.
The home secretary, Sajid Javid, who travelled back to the UK from the first day of his family holiday to respond to the incident, wrote on Twitter: “Huge thanks to our emergency services for their rapid reaction to incident in Westminster this morning. My thoughts are with those injured.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said: “My thoughts are with those hurt and injured outside parliament this morning in what is being treated as a terrorist incident. Our thanks go to our emergency services who responded immediately. Their bravery keeps us safe day in, day out.”Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said: “My thoughts are with those hurt and injured outside parliament this morning in what is being treated as a terrorist incident. Our thanks go to our emergency services who responded immediately. Their bravery keeps us safe day in, day out.”
Donald Trump, tweeted: “Another terrorist attack in London … These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!” The US president, Donald Trump, tweeted: “Another terrorist attack in London … These animals are crazy and must be dealt with through toughness and strength!”
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